Calls for Ritchie to be dropped from Canberra match

Organisers have called for former Test batsman Greg Ritchie to be removed from a cricket tournament featuring Muslim players in response to claims of racist and anti-Muslim comments.

Ritchie was scheduled to play for the Australian Cricket Association (ACA) Masters in a Twenty20 match against a World Defence XI team on November 24 at Canberra's Manuka Oval.

The match is the culmination of the International Defence Cricket Challenge, which starts on Wednesday and runs until November 23 and includes teams from the Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Pakistan Armed Forces.

Ritchie - who played 30 Tests between 1982 and 1987 - has been in the spotlight since comments he made during a lunchtime speech at the Brisbane Cricket Ground Trust members dining room on the first day of the Test against South Africa on Friday.

"I've got nothing against the Muslim people," Ritchie was reported as saying on Friday.

"Just this morning I had to try and stop three little Muslim boys trying to break the lock on my car boot.

"I had to say, 'Shut up! You're in there for a reason!"'

Ritchie also came under fire for accusations of racism by using the word "kaffir", which is a highly-offensive description of black people.

Tournament director Lieutenant-Colonel James Brownlie contacted the ACA on Monday and voiced his disapproval at Ritchie's presence given the large number of Muslim players involved in the Malaysian and Pakistan teams.